LA MOTTE STUDIO On October 4, 1907, the Petaluma Argus-Courier reported on the front page that W. L. Shattuck, who had recently arrived into Petaluma, had purchased Brown’s photographic studio on Main Street, and that after its renovation, it would be known as La Motte Studio. Later in the year, an advertisement for La Motte Studio claimed that it provided, “Platinums in Sepia or Black and White, also Platinas”. It also declared their motto to be, “prompt delivery and satisfactory work”, and that the proprietor was W. M. Gray. There is no documentation verifying that W. L Shattuck or W. M. Gray were professional photographers. Shattuck may have simply been an investor, and Gray a manager. The photographer who created the La Motte Studio’s portraits is unidentified.
The Petaluma Argus-Courier reported on October 4, 1909, that Gray had sold the La Motte Studio to George L. Brady of Watsonville who had not announced his plans for the future. The address of the La Motte Studio was recorded as both 164 and 818 Main Street.
Active in Petaluma: October 4, 1907 - October 4, 1909
Bibliography: Petaluma Argus-Courier, October 4, 1907, p. 1; December 25, 1908, p. 6; October 4, 1909, p. 3. Petaluma Daily Morning Courier, January 9, 1908, p. 1.
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